Roof beams

ABSTRACT

A roof beam construction for use in constructing conservatory roofs comprises a glazing bar and upper and lower cappings therefor having gaskets along edges thereof between which roof panels are to be retained and means for locating the cappings on the glazing bar, wherein the upper capping has a top and generally flat depending sides, the top being in the form of a duct having a base and a decoratively profiled top and wherein the lower capping is formed in two parts, the first having the gaskets on its edges and having its base extending beyond its sides to provide locations for attachment of the second part which is shaped to provide ledges on opposite sides thereof.

DESCRIPTION

[0001] This invention concerns improvements in and relating to roof beams for use in forming glazed roofs, especially conservatory roofs, and particularly conservatory roofs having hipped ends where roof beams are supported additionally by jack rafters.

[0002] So-called Georgian style conservatory roofs usually have a hipped end that is square at its corners. Roof beams for supporting glazing panels extending from a ridge-end to the corners often have one or more jack rafters connected between those beams and the eaves of the conservatory roof.

[0003] Typical roof beams comprise an aluminium glazing bar having a cross bar and an upstand glazing panels being supported on either side of the cross bar and bottom UPVC cappings conceal the aluminium glazing bar and have gasket material on edges thereof to seal against top and bottom surfaces of the glazing panels. There is a demand for the top cappings of the roof beams to be decoratively profiled but that requires complicating cutting of jack rafter cappings to abut neatly against the main roof beam cappings.

[0004] Another problem with the fitting of jack rafters is that if they are slightly out of true in either the vertical or horizontal planes, that can be very noticeable from inside the conservatory because the jack rafter bottom capping will not be flush with the main roof beam capping.

[0005] An object of this invention is to provide a roof beam for use in forming a glazed roof, which can avoid one or more of the aforementioned problems.

[0006] According to a first aspect of this invention there is provided a roof beam construction for use in constructing conservatory roofs comprising a glazing bar and an upper capping therefor having gaskets along edges thereof between for sealing on roofing panels retained on the glazing bar and means for locating the capping on the glazing bar, wherein the upper capping has a top and depending sides, the top being in the form of a duct having a base and a decoratively profiled top.

[0007] The depending sides of the upper capping are preferably flat.

[0008] By having the sides of the capping flat, a capping for a jack rafter need only be cut straight to abut neatly against the flat side of the upper capping of a main roof beam.

[0009] The roof beam of the first aspect of the invention preferably also comprises a lower capping mounted on the glazing bar and having gaskets along edges thereof, roofing panels being retainable between the respective gaskets of the upper and lower cappings.

[0010] According to a second aspect of this invention there is provided a roof beam construction for use in constructing conservatory roofs comprising a glazing bar and upper and lower cappings therefor having gaskets along edges thereof between which roofing panels are to be retained and means for locating the cappings on the glazing bar, wherein the lower capping is formed in two parts, the first having the gaskets on its edges and having its base extending beyond its sides to provide locations for attachment of the second part which is shaped to provide ledges on opposite sides thereof.

[0011] The ledges are provided so that jack rafter bottom cappings can be extended over those ledges, whereby the meeting of the rafter bottom capping with the bottom capping of the main roof beam is concealed from below.

[0012] Preferred roof beams of the invention will have both upper cappings according to the first aspect of the invention and lower cappings according to the second aspect of the invention.

[0013] The invention further provides a roof construction comprising roof beams according to any aspect of the invention, with or without jack rafters, and supporting glazing panels therebetween.

[0014] A preferred upper capping according to the invention has formations depending from the base of its profiled top for engagement with the glazing bar head to retain the capping thereon.

[0015] Gaskets for the upper capping are preferably on inwards returns of the capping sides the returns preferably being resiliently flexible, whereby when in place on a glazing bar, the gaskets are concealed from view.

[0016] Lower cappings for roof beams of the invention preferably rely on gasket strips on the free edges to overlie the glazing bar cross bar ends to be trapped between the glazing bar and the roofing panels thereon.

[0017] This invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0018]FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a Georgian style conservatory roof;

[0019]FIG. 2 is an end view of a Georgian style roof beam assembly; and

[0020]FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a Georgian roof beam assembly with jack rafter but omitting glazing panels.

[0021] Referring to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, a Georgian style conservatory has a hipped roof 10 with a first part 12 having a ridge 14 and transom roof beams 16 extending at right angles therefrom down to eaves 18. The hipped part 20 of the roof from a pair of roof beams 22 extending downwardly from the ridge end to corners of the roof. Because of the steepness of the angle of these roof beams and consequently the angle of glazing panels 24, the beams 22 and their cappings have to be of different shape from those of the transom roof beams. Georgian style conservatory roofs also have jack rafters 26 which connect the diagonal beams 22 to the eaves.

[0022]FIGS. 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings show a roof beam system for the hipped part of the Georgian style conservatory roof of FIG. 1 and in particular for the roof beams 22 and jack rafters 26.

[0023] Roof beams 22 comprise a glazing bar 30, an upper capping 32 and a lower capping 34. In use, roofing panels 24, such as of translucent plastics material, for example, polycarbonate, will have their edges sandwiched between the upper capping 32 and the lower capping 34 on opposite sides of the roof beam arrangement.

[0024] The glazing bar 30 is extruded from aluminium and generally of T-section but inverted in use having a cross bar 36 and an upstanding limb 38. Th us, the glazing bar 30 has a pair of flanges 40 forming the cross bar, which are returned back on themselves at their remote ends 41. The upstanding limb 38 has a first part 42 extending from the cross bar 36 that has a single web and includes a screw port 44 and a second double web ducted part 48. The top of the limb 38 forms an upwardly open channel 50 having sides 52. On the inside of each side 52 is a series of notches 54 forming downwardly open recesses.

[0025] Each flange 40 has a first part generally sloping slightly downwards from the limb 38 and a second part which forms a trough 58 remote from the limb 38. The upper capping 32 is extruded from uPVC and is generally of inverted V-section but comprises a decoratively shaped top 60 and flat sides 62. The top 60 is formed as a duct having a flat base 63 joining tops of sides 62 and strengthening webs 65 from the centre of base 63 diagonally to spaced points of the top 60.

[0026] The sides 62 are stepped inwards at their bottom edges to form gasket receiving edges 64 inwards of the sides 62. The edges 64 are thinner than the sides of the capping and are resiliently flexible by means of a line of weakness, thinning of the material where the edges and sides meet. That allows a spring action to urge gaskets 66 on the edges 64 onto the glazing panels to improve the seal.

[0027] The rubber or synthetic elastomeric material gaskets 66 are co-extruded or bonded onto the edges 64. The gaskets 66 are formed as strips having divergent deformable sides 67, 68. As can be seen, when the upper capping is pressed onto the glazing bar, the gaskets are hidden effectively by the overhang of the returned sides of the capping. Furthermore, the returned sides may provide the capping with greater resilience, so that the capping can form a good seal against glazing panels and also to reduce the risk of the capping splitting where sides 62 join the top 60 by application of excessive force in fitting the capping. Internally of the capping and depending from base 63 of the top profile are a pair of resilient divergent flaps 69 having outwardly projecting lips 70 at the ends. These flaps slot into the channel 50 of the limb 38 and the lips 70 are retained by the notches 54 when the capping is pressed onto the glazing bar.

[0028] The lower capping 34 is in two parts 74, 76 both being formed as a uPVC extrusion. The first part 74 is formed as a channel having a base with two angled facets 78 and upstanding side walls 80. Free edges of the walls carry co-extruded or bonded gaskets 82 of rubber or synthetic elastomeric material, extending inwardly.

[0029] The gaskets 82 having resiliently deformable projections 84, 86 on their upper surfaces along their free edges and generally centrally thereof respectively.

[0030] The base of the capping part 74 extends beyond the sides 80 to form lips 88 on which the second part 76 of the lower capping locates. The second part 76 has a flat base 90 and sides 92 that have firstly a decoratively profile (94), inwards steps to provide outer ledges 96 and finally straight parts 98 that overlie the sides of the first lower capping part 74. Internally of the capping part 76 are lips 100 that sit on the lips 88 of the first capping part 74 to retain the capping part 76 in place. The second capping part 76 will be slightly resilient to allow its sides to bend slightly for it to snap onto the first capping part.

[0031] The form of the upper and lower cappings are useful in accommodating linking of jack rafters 26 to the glazing bars 22 (see FIG. 2). The connections between the jack rafters 76 and the glazing bars can be, for example, as shown in co-pending patent application number GB 2323107A. There is a demand for glazing bar cappings to be decorative. However, if the upper capping is decoratively profiled over the full depth of its sides, upper capping 102 for the jack rafter has to be cut to match, which is difficult and time consuming to do accurately on site. However, by having the decorative profiling for the upper capping at its top leaving the sides flat, there is relatively little difficulty in straight cutting of a jack rafter upper capping end to match.

[0032] Also, internally of the roof, where the jack rafter meets the main glazing bar, if the bottom capping 104 is not cut sufficiently accurately or the jack rafter is slightly skewed, the meeting between the jack rafter bottom capping and a conventional glazing bar bottom capping can have a spoiled appearance. By providing a bottom capping for the glazing bars 22 that has ledges 96 on opposite sides thereof, the jack rafter bottom cappings can extend onto the ledges and so the meeting of the jack rafter and glazing bar bottom cappings is effectively hidden from below, so any misalignment will not be apparent.

[0033] Where the glazing bars 22 reach the eaves of the roof at a corner the first bottom capping part 74 can be extended over the eaves to provide a drainage path to the guttering. The second part 76 has to be cut to length to abut internal cladding at the eaves. Using corner connectors of the type described on our co-pending application number (our reference P4500) bottom capping part can be cut straight across, otherwise it will need to be mitred into the corner.

[0034] The decorative top 60 of the upper capping being in the form of a duct acts as a drainage passage. If the upper capping is cut back at all under a ridge end apron, any water penetration under the apron can drain away through the duct and out into guttering at the eaves. 

1. A roof beam construction for use in constructing conservatory roofs comprising a glazing bar and an upper capping therefor having gaskets along edges thereof for sealing on roofing panels retained on the glazing bar and means for locating the capping on the glazing bar, wherein the upper capping has a top and depending sides, the top being in the form of a duct having a base and a decoratively profiled top.
 2. A roof beam construction as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the depending sides of the upper capping are generally flat.
 3. A roof beam construction as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a lower capping mounted on the glazing bar and having gaskets along edges thereof, roofing panels being retainable between the respective gaskets of the upper and lower cappings.
 4. A roof beam construction as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the lower capping is formed in two parts, the first having the gaskets on its edges and having its base extending beyond its sides to provide locations for attachment of the second part which is shaped to provide ledges on opposite sides thereof.
 5. A roof beam construction for use in constructing conservatory roofs comprising a glazing bar and upper and lower cappings therefor having gaskets along edges thereof between which roofing panels are to be retained and means for locating the cappings on the glazing bar, wherein the lower capping is formed in two parts, the first having the gaskets on its edges and having its base extending beyond its sides to provide locations for attachment of the second part which is shaped to provide ledges on opposite sides thereof.
 6. A roof beam as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the upper capping has formations depending from the base of its profiled top for engagement with the glazing bar head to retain the capping thereon.
 7. A roof beam as claimed in claim 1 , wherein gaskets for the upper capping are on inwards returns of the capping sides, whereby when in place on a glazing bar, the gaskets are concealed from view.
 8. A roof beam as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the inwards returns are resiliently flexible.
 9. A roof beam as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the lower cappings rely on gasket strips on their free edges to overlie the glazing bar cross bar ends to be trapped between the glazing bar and the roofing panels thereon.
 10. A roof construction comprising roof beams as claimed in claim 1 , with or without jack rafters, and supporting glazing panels therebetween.
 11. A roof construction comprising roof beams as claimed in claim 5 , with or without jack rafters, and supporting glazing panels therebetween. 